Iran issues chilling threat to US if Trump takes action against Supreme Leader Khamenei

Iran has issued a stark warning to Donald Trump, cautioning against any aggressive action towards its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The warning follows Trump's recent call for an end to Ayatollah Khamenei's nearly four-decade rule.

General Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesperson for Iran's armed forces, delivered a severe threat: "Trump knows that if any hand of aggression is extended toward our leader, we not only cut that hand but also we will set fire to their world."

The comments came after Trump described Ayatollah Khamenei in a Saturday interview with Politico as "a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people," adding "it's time to look for new leadership in Iran."

Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated significantly since a brutal crackdown by authorities on protests that erupted over Iran's struggling economy on 28 December.

Trump has previously outlined two critical "red lines" for the Islamic Republic: the killing of peaceful protesters and mass executions of demonstrators.

Amidst these heightened diplomatic exchanges, ship-tracking data on Tuesday revealed the USS Abraham Lincoln, an American aircraft carrier, had traversed the Strait of Malacca, a vital maritime passage.

A US Navy official, speaking anonymously, confirmed the carrier and its three accompanying destroyers were proceeding west.

While defence officials refrained from explicitly stating the strike group's destination as the Middle East, its current trajectory suggests it is merely days away from entering the region.

This would not be the first instance of a Pacific-deployed carrier group being redirected to the Middle East; the Abraham Lincoln was rerouted in 2024, and the USS Nimitz group last June.

The death toll from the protests has reached at least 4,484 people, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Tuesday. The agency has been accurate throughout the years of demonstrations and unrest in Iran, relying on a network of activists inside the country that confirms all reported fatalities. The Associated Press has been unable to independently confirm the figure.

The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding the 1979 revolution that brought the Islamic Republic into being. Although there have been no protests for days, there are fears the number could increase significantly as information gradually emerges from a country still under a government-imposed shutdown of the internet since Jan. 8.

Khamenei said on Saturday that the protests had left "several thousand" people dead and blamed the United States. It was the first indication from an Iranian leader of the extent of the casualties.

A further 26,127 people have been arrested, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Comments from officials have led to fears of some of those detained being put to death in Iran, one of the world's top executioners.

National police chief Gen. Ahmad Reza Radan has said those turning themselves in would receive more lenient treatment than those who don't.

"Those who were deceived by foreign intelligence services, and became their soldiers in practice, have a chance to turn themselves in," Radan said in an interview carried by Iran's state television on Monday. "In case of surrender, definitely there will be a reduction in punishment. They have three days to turn themselves in."

He did not elaborate on what would happen after the three days.